What is Kelvin’s Thunderstorm?

If you arrived here while looking for information on Kelvin’s Thunderstorm, you can read a great introduction at Electropaedia. From the article:

Kelvin’s Thunderstorm is an amazing water powered electrostatic generator, which can be made from simple materials at home or school, capable of generating a potential of tens of thousands of volts at its terminals. It was invented by Lord Kelvin (William Thomson) in 1867 and has no moving parts, depending on electrostatic induction and positive feedback for its operation. He called the device his water-dropping condenser.